Most discussion of the Civil War centers on the great battles of the
Eastern Theater--Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg.
Further contemplation brings to mind the Western Theater: Vicksburg,
Island No. 10, Secessionville, Chickamauga. Way down the obscurity
list are the battles of California. One such began today: Daniel
Showalter and a band of 17 fellow Confederates incurred the wrath of
Federal authorities in Southern California. They set out in pursuit,
and the chase was on. It took over a week, but the Federals never
gave up. The Showalter party was finally captured Nov. 29 at a place
known as the Warner Ranch, southeast of Los Angeles.

Thursday Nov. 20 1862 TENNESSEE TROOPS TAKE TIME TO TRANSFORM

The road to war had been a rocky one in Tennessee. The sentiment to
leave the Union was not universal, with a distinct divide between
the pro-Federal east and the pro-Confederate western part of the
state. The decision having been made, however, it was evidently time
to get organized to take part in the war which was swirling around
them. In furtherance of this goal, there was formed the Army of
Tennessee, which would prove to be one of the finest fighting forces
on either side, although cursed with dubious leadership. The
structure was changed today to consist of three corps, under
Generals E. Kirby Smith, Leonidas Polk, and William Joseph Hardee.
The overall command was held by Gen. Braxton Bragg, who was very
popular with Jefferson Davis.

Friday Nov. 20 1863 EVERETT EXTENDS ESTIMABLE EVALUATION

At yesterday’s dedication ceremony of the new National Military
Cemetery at Gettysburg, Edward Everett, the noted orator, had spoken
for some two hours. He was followed by President Abraham Lincoln,
who spoke for less than two minutes. The newspapermen in attendance,
not all of whom had even been able to hear the President clearly,
had been exceedingly lukewarm in their opinions of the talk. Today,
however, it was Everett who sent Lincoln a letter of congratulations
on his speech. Lincoln had better grasped “the central idea of the
occasion,” he said. Lincoln, modestly, wrote back to Everett his
thanks. “I am pleased to know that, in your judgment, the little I
did say was not entirely a failure.”

Sunday Nov. 20, 1864 PECULIAR PURPOSE PROPELS PATRICK

The Confederacy was blessed with quite a number of creative boat
designers. While in better times these gentlemen would probably have
been turned away as deranged lunatics, desperate times led to
consideration of desperate ideas. One such, the torpedo boat called
St. Patrick by her designer and commander John P. Halligan, was
completed in Selma, Ala., today and launched to take on the Union
vessels infesting Mobile Bay. A writer who saw her described St.
Patrick: “Length, about 30 feet; has water-tight compartments; can
be sunk or raised as desired; is propelled by a very small engine;
and will stow in 5 men. It has some arrangement of machinery that
times the explosions of torpedoes, to enable the operators to retire
to a safe distance.” One hopes the last note was accurate.